Figure it Out
by thunder skies
Summary: “Do you want to hear my theory?” “No.” “Too bad.” Post Breaking Dawn. Jacob and Leah have a talk about imprinting, true love, and other such things. Jacob/Leah.


**Disclaimer: **It's all SMeyer's. Really.

Christ, she _hated _people.

Well, okay, not people in general. Leah Clearwater hated certain specific people. Of the wolf variety. Who imprinted on babies.

Leech babies.

_Yeah, because I totally can't be even _more _pathetic, obviously, _she remarked sardonically in her head. The wind tangled strands of her hair together, and Leah sighed. She had been in the forest for almost a full hour— if she wanted to lie to herself, she could say she was simply contemplating recent events.

Except she was doing the farthest thing from that. Which was basically thinking, _Fuck Jacob Black. And fuck his stupid bloodsucker imprint, too. _

_Goddammit._

She really wished she had a cigarette right now.

Leah took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. She was so ridiculously _idiotic _sometimes. When was she finally going to learn that no matter how badly she wanted it, no one she truly wanted was going to want her back?

_No one._

What was that line from The Wizard of Oz? _Hearts will be useless things until they are made unbreakable. _

There's never been a sentiment Leah agreed with more.

The pure silence of the forest was comforting, in an odd way. No voices in her head. No one but her, really. No one knowing exactly what she was thinking at this very second. No one— no one…

"Hey, girlie-wolf."

_Just fucking great. Thanks a lot, Fate, really. This is exactly what I need right now. _

Leah spun around, the familiar tone startling her totally and completely out of her reverie. Then she glared, turning back and away from her Alpha.

"Go away, Black," she muttered, focusing completely on the tree straight in front of her.

"Now, why would I leave you alone to sulk when we just won a battle?" Jacob asked cheerfully. His footsteps drew nearer to her, and before she could protest he had sat down directly beside her.

"You mean that talk show was a _battle?_" she mocked, twisting her torso slightly away from him and his stupid wolf heat. "God, y'know, I'd never have guessed."

Jacob chuckled, low in his throat, and she blanched. Even his _laugh _sounded good, for fuck's sake.

"Well, then why are you out here all alone? Contemplating the meaning of life again, huh?"

Leah narrowed her eyes at the ground. "I _said, _leave me alone," she growled.

"C'mon, Leah," he said, and she caught a subtle change in his demeanor as he grew serious. "What're you thinking about?"

She made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat, twisting her fingers together so tightly that they began to burn. "Oh, you know. Rainbows, butterflies, shit that fucked up my life. The usual." Leah rolled her eyes.

"Um… okay?" Jacob said uncertainly.

"I'm thinking about imprinting and all that bullshit," she snapped at him, the truth spilling from her mouth before she could stop it. "Finding your true love. Fate. Destiny. Meant to be. All that crap."

She paused, waiting for him to begin arguing his side with her— how marvelous imprinting was, how magical and stunning and fucking _spectacular_ finding your _one true love _could be.

Except he didn't start arguing with her.

Which was, quite honestly, a new thing.

Jacob simply shook his head slowly. "I don't think you imprint on your true love," he said, his eyebrows furrowing.

Leah snorted, kicking absently at a pinecone that the wind had rolled by her foot. "Oh, of course not. Because Sam and Emily so aren't _soul mates—_" she spat the words as if they were leech venom, "—and neither are Jared and Kim. And let's not forget Quil, the perpetual nanny-from-hell, who's going to marry his darling Claire one day. Or—"

"Would you _hush?_" Jacob asked, exasperated. He sighed and stretched out his legs in front of him, the picture of relaxation. Scowling, Leah tightened her arms around her knees.

"I don't think you imprint of your true love," he repeated. He opened his mouth again as if to continue, but Leah cut him off.

"What are you, a friggin' nutjob? Have you _seen _the pack? Have you _seen _Paul drooling over Rachel? Have you—"

She was barred from continuing when Jacob pressed his hand over her mouth. _Fuck you, _she cursed to herself, humming angrily against his fingers. _Damn it, does his hand have to feel so nice? Damn it, that fucking idiot. _

"Do you want to hear my theory?" he asked patiently, as though he were speaking to a three year old. Leah rolled her eyes before wrenching his hand away from her.

"No."

"Too bad."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Leah could see the strands of his hair moving as he blew out, and how he swiped them away without thinking. Her throat constricted without warning; she bit her lip and turned to watch the trees.

"Okay," Jacob said finally, apparently having gathered his thoughts. "I don't think you imprint on your true love." Leah started to argue once more, but he made a noise to stop her. "Don't think I'm above shoving a pinecone in your mouth to shut you up, Leah."

She glowered at him, but didn't interrupt. He smiled and continued, "And I don't think you imprint just to carry on the line, either."

"Great. So it's just random chance, then?" she snorted. Way for him to be nice. Telling her that any man she loved could leave just because of a random spark of DNA between him and some other girl. Whoop-dee-freaking-do.

"I didn't say that," Jacob said, staring up at the sky with a look of utter frustration on his face. "You shouldn't assume things, honey, 'cause one day you'll end up assuming the wrong thing."

"Did you—" _just call me honey? _"—mean something else, then?" She swallowed, hard, discouraging the lump in her throat. "'Cause I seriously can't see where you're going with this. Been inhaling too much leech smell, Jake?"

"Don't be a smartass," he ordered amiably. The look of frustration had a passed, easily and quickly. She smiled just a little, to herself. Jake couldn't stay irritated long. "My dad and Sam have their theories, I have mine."

Leah waited a beat. "Gonna tell me or not?"

"Oh, I thought you didn't want to know," he taunted. She elbowed his side sharply.

"Tell me before I phase and gouge out your eyes."

"Feisty." Jake chuckled, almost like it was a private joke with himself. Leah scowled even more deeply, aggravated at herself for showing how much she wanted to know what he thought of imprinting… if he thought there was even a small chance….

"Okay," he began, turning so that he could see her face. She willed her body not to heat up immediately. "You know how with Jared, when he imprinted, it made Kim sort of… open up? Y'know, come out of her shell or whatever?"

She contemplated for a moment, and the nodded her head. "Yeah, sure."

"All right. And you know how Claire's dad is always going on business trips every other week, and how Quil stays with her instead?"

Another nod. "Uh-huh."

He seemed to hesitate for a second, and then continued, "And Rachel was always closest to Mom… but now she has Paul."

"…I guess so."

"Get it yet?"

She answered honestly. "No. What the hell are you getting at?"

Jake sighed, but the sound was laced with amusement. "What I'm getting at is that I don't think you imprint on your true love, or to make lots of baby wolves, or randomly. I think you imprint on the person who needs you the most."

_Oh, come _on.

"Needs you the most? What are you on, Jake, seriously? Then how to you explain all these engaged imprint couples?" She fired off the questions one by one, hoping to make him stumble.

No such luck.

"Yes, the one who needs you the most. I'm not on anything, thank you very much, my head's messed up enough already. And nearly all the imprint couples are going to get married, because, well… don't people usually need love most of all?"

"You sound like a cheesy Valentine's card," Leah muttered. She clasped her fingers together over her knees, biting her lower lip as she thought.

"Wait," she said suddenly, feeling the equivalent of a light bulb appearing over her head. "_All _the imprint couples are going to end up married. Why'd you say '_nearly_ all'?"

Her voice rose severely in pitch towards the end of the sentence, making her flinch. Jacob raised his eyebrows at her, the universal signal for, _"Are you really that dumb?" _

"Yes," she snapped, ignoring the fact that he hadn't actually asked a question. "Who's not getting married?"

For half a second, just half a second, she wondered fleetingly if maybe— _just maybe_— it was Sam and Emily. Immediately she felt sickened. _Stop it, _she hissed to herself. _They're happy, stop it. Of course not. _

"Leah," Jacob said, an air of patience surrounding him again. "Think of all the imprint couples you know." He waited a moment.

"We know Sam and Emily are getting married."

"…Yeah," she mumbled.

"We know Jared and Kim have been engaged for a few months."

"Yes…"

"Rachel can't stop yammering about Paul."

"Got it…"

"And Quil's been dreaming of the day Claire's grown up enough to accept a ring."

"…I know..."

"So who's left?"

Leah rolled her eyes at the obvious answer. "Well, duh, it's you and Renesm—"

Before the last word even fully left her mouth, she stopped cold.

Her mind immediately screamed at her that this was a joke, a horrible, cruel joke— but even Jake wouldn't do that to her… right? Something clenched in her stomach. If he was joking, she really _would _gouge his eyes out.

"You and Renesmee," she responded slowly, barely choking out the _spawn's_ name, "are not… getting… married?"

Leah hoped he didn't notice how fearful she sounded. It didn't seem like he did, because Jacob didn't even blink. "No, of course we're not," he replied calmly, perfectly at ease. _Bastard. _She was practically a nervous wreck over here, and he had the nerve to be _peaceful._

"But she's your _imprint,_" Leah all but hissed, whirling around so that she was kneeling in front of Jacob. "When she's eighteen, or seven, or four, or however the fuck long it takes for her to look like an adult, _then _you aren't going to realize how _gorgeous _she is and how much you _adore _her, and rush her off to a chapel and get married and live _happily ever after?_"

She spat the last three words into the air, letting them hang there between them. She was panting, out of breath from her tirade, and she wanted Jake to be mad too— then they could phase and fight and claw and she could let some of this _out._

Jacob did not look mad.

He looked wholly amused.

"Damn it!" she screeched, throwing her hands up. "Why aren't you _pissed?_ What, has _Nessie _mellowed you out_ that_ much?!"

"Why would I be pissed?" he asked, half-laughing, to her irritated astonishment. He flashed a grin. "You're jealous."

Her mouth fell open. "Jealous of _what?_" she asked harshly, barking out a quick laugh. "Of your _connection _with that _spawn?_" Leah watched with satisfaction as he flinched, crossing her arms over her chest and watching him with a hardened stare.

"Please don't call her that," Jacob sighed. He sounded more resigned that aggravated. Leah growled quietly— of course he would stand up for his precious Renesmee.

"To answer your other questions," he went on in that same infuriatingly calm way, "no, I will never marry Nessie." He paused, seeming to consider his next words.

"You know how I said that I think we imprint on the person who needs us the most?"

"Oh, yeah, 'cause _Nessie _has it so rough," Leah snorted, the disgust almost rolling off her. "A family that freakin' adores every fiber of her being, the ability to communicate with everyone by invading their personal space on a regular basis, and getting to run through puberty in maybe two years. God, how hard!"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying she has a difficult life. You assume too much," he added as an afterthought. "What I'm _saying _is that I can be what she needs most: a friend."

Leah blinked.

"Are you going to say anything?" he asked sociably. "I'd hate to think that I shocked you into an early death."

"Wait, wait, _wait,_" she burst out, shaking her head wildly. "No, this isn't right! When Nessie's all grown up and— when she's done growing, and— you can't _not _love your imprint, Jacob!"

"I'm not saying I don't love her. I'm saying I don't love her like _that._" He chuckled. "I've tried thinking about it, don't get me wrong—when I'm very far away from Edward— but even when Nessie's all grown up, I just can't see myself falling _in _love with her." He shrugged, as though he went about defying nature every day. _Jackass. _"But I'll be her best friend, sure. You know how Edward is, how Bella and Rosalie are— they're going to want to stick her in a bubble for her whole life, and I can help her get out there."

Jake grinned, and it made her heart do some stupid flittering thing that it really shouldn't have been doing.

"'Sides, if I was pining for Nessie, it would totally ruin my chances with this other girl."

_Fuck._

"Really?" She arched her eyebrows, trying to keep her tone cool. She succeeded— even though her mind was practically bashing itself against her skull. Of course he liked some other girl. Of course. Why did she bother getting up the small amount of hope that she still had? _Why? _

"Yeah," Jacob said, apparently not noticing the chaos going on inside her head. He looked straight at her and _fuck, _she was only supposed to get that fluttery feeling in her stomach for _Sam. _"She's really cool. I think I might have chance at getting her, y'know."

"Good for you," Leah muttered, lowering herself down so that she was sitting cross legged in front of him.

"Uh-huh," he continued, oblivious to the fact that she _so did not want to hear this. _"I mean, she's not all girly, though. She hangs out with guys a lot."

"That's great," she said icily, the tone of her voice making it obvious she thought it was anything but.

"I know." _God, he was such an idiot._ "Plus, she's really pretty. In her own way."

"Pretty as _Renesmee?_" she asked, sarcasm invading the words. It really wasn't fair for a little half-breed brat to have such a beautiful face. And she wasn't even done growing it, yet!

Jacob smiled, just a small quirk to his lips. "Yeah, she is. Even prettier, I think. Not everyone agrees with me, but screw them."

"Yeah," Leah murmured. "Screw them."

"I think she might like me too, but she hides stuff like that really well," Jake went on, ignoring how she fidgeted on the ground. Even when they were both sitting he was still much taller than her, so she settled for staring at the blades of grass between her fingers instead of arching her neck up to see his face.

"We've been getting closer for a long time," Jacob rambled on. Leah chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying not to tell him to just _shut up _about his stupid perfect girl and let her start trying to forget. "She's got this thing about letting people see her when she's not totally together, though."

"I know the feeling," she muttered. Shit, she had even though _she_ and Jake were getting closer too, not him and this stupid chick. What was the difference between them, really? She hung out with the guys all the time, too…

The thought smacked her right in the face.

It_ couldn't._

Leah froze, her hands pausing over the grass. Oh, fuck. Hope was going to be her undoing. Of course it wasn't…. _no. _

She thought that she felt Jake's eyes on her head as he kept talking, but shook it off. Probably her damn imagination. She tightened her fingers together, making her knuckles go white.

"She lives in La Push, near me."

Did she hear a smile in his voice?

"With her brother and mother."

_Goddamn. Don't even think about it, Clearwater. _

"She can be a real bitch sometimes."

There was his shadow, leaning over her—

"But she's actually pretty cool."

When she managed to look up, Jacob's forehead was almost touching hers. Her heart beat out of control, because he _couldn't _be implying—

"Her name's Leah Clearwater," he murmured against her lips. "And I think she might like me too."

He kissed her.

But only for a second, just one single second, before he pulled back. Her eyes where half closed, almost _burning. _Was he _serious? Really? _He had his imprint, the one he was supposedly compatible with in every way, and he wanted _her? _Sam had said he wanted her, and that had— that had… that had not ended well…

"Are you going to say anything?" Jacob asked, repeating his earlier words. "Or just slap me, or something? 'Cause if you are, could you please get it over with?"

She blinked at him. Her lips were still parted slightly, and he had sat back down in front of her, legs sprawled out across the ground.

This was so not a good time for words to fail her.

"You just—"

"I just kissed you," Jacob confirmed. "Am I really that good that it's sent you into a catatonic state? 'Cause that'd be pretty cool. Just sayin'." He paused. "Except for, you know, the whole catatonic thing."

Leah shook her head slowly. "You just kissed me."

"Yeah."

"You just _kissed _me."

"So you've said."

"You imprinted on Renesmee, and you _kissed_ me."

"I know, I was there."

A look of concentration passed over Leah's face. Her shirt suddenly felt_ way_ too hot against her skin— Jacob was still staring at her, as though waiting for her to comprehend what had just happened.

"Did you mean it?" she asked suddenly.

Jake frowned, the corner of his mouth turning downwards. "Mean what?"

"_That,_" Leah hissed, waving a hand furiously between them and touching her lips. "This isn't just some, hey let's have fun and fuck with the girlie-wolf plan that you and Seth made up, is it? Because if it is, I swear to God, Black, I will make sure that—"

She didn't get to finish. Not that she minded.

In fact, she was pretty sure she wouldn't mind anything if he kept kissing her.

In some far away corner of her mind, Leah felt a sort of pity for Emily— hell, her lips were on fire, and she and Jake were _both _werewolves (oh, no, _shape shifters, _sorry). It must really suck to make out with someone with a normal temperature that was about ten degrees above your own.

Jake pulled away again, a smug smile on his face. _Bastard. _Leah supposed her expression was still rather dazed, and she immediately worked to smooth it over with a look of indifference.

"Not working," he said cheerfully, arranging himself so that he was sitting as she was, legs crossed. "I know you liked it."

She scowled. "Doesn't make a difference."

Jake dipped his head back and laughed; the sound reverberated off the trees, making their leaves shake. "Yeah, that's why you're talking all breathy and shit."

"I am not!" she said loudly, forcing her voice out. Jake laughed again. Goddamn, he was way too fucking happy all the time.

She was quiet for a few minutes. They both sat in what the rest of the world called Indian style, Leah's hands resting on the grass beside her knees. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to figure out how to say what she was thinking so desperately.

Jake finally broke the silence, not with words, but by reaching out and grabbing her fingers. She allowed him to pull their joined hands up, bridging the distance between them.

"Are you going to say something?" he asked quietly.

She nodded her head. "Just… I'm trying to…"

"Figure it out?" he supplied.

"Yeah."

Their fingers remained clasped in the air. Jacob was studying them, her hand laced with his, and she wondered if the heat was just as intense as for him as it was for her.

Finally, she looked up at his face. "Hey Jake?"

"Yeah, Leah?"

"…You should kiss me again."

In an instant, his face wavered between shock, humor, and what she thought might have been lust. He grinned, the kind of grin that he used to give to Bella, the kind that was just _happy. _Not her sort of happy, pretend happy laced with bitterness— _real _happy, like just _looking _at her made him grin like that.

In truth, it kind of scared her. She had never made anyone joyful like that before.

The grin slowly melted off his face, until only his eyes were left twinkling down at her. "Whatever you say, girlie-wolf," Jacob mock-sighed, but before she could get angry at him for calling her that, he leaned over and connected their lips again.

Holy _shit. _She could really get used to this.

After only a few seconds, Leah opened her mouth against his, sliding her tongue along his bottom lip. Well, if she was going to do this, she might as well do it all the way, right?

Right.

Jake's hands circled around her waist, burning into her skin through her shirt. She moved her arms so that they looped around his neck in turn, clumsily untangling herself from her Indian style position so that she was kneeling in front of him. Her mouth pressed fervently on his, and he smiled against her lips— pulling her even closer until her only option was to slip into his lap.

When they were finally forced to break away, she took in a gasp of air. Somehow, her legs had managed to entwine themselves around his waist, and his hands were steadily stroking the heated skin of her spine. They remained that way for several long moments, breathing in each other's scents; a strand of his hair stuck to her forehead, and Leah pressed her nose into his cheek without thinking.

There was a silence that stretched into minutes. Leah slowly began to relax into him, her body melding across his, letting him touch her. It felt incredibly good to just be _held— _to be in someone else's arms for the first time in so long.

"Jake?" she finally mumbled against the corner of his mouth.

"Hmm?"

"How did you know that I… y'know, that I…" She trailed off, letting the silence and the way she tightened her legs around him finish the sentence.

"That you wanted me?"

"Shut up!" she groaned. Jacob chuckled, the sound vibrating against her throat and making her shiver slightly.

"Well, you know," he said smugly, touching their foreheads again. "That whole mind reading thing of Edward's? Comes in handy sometimes."

Her mouth dropped open. "Holy _fu—_"

"You've got a _really _dirty mouth, has anyone ever told you?" Jake asked conversationally.

And then he kissed her again.

**Author's Notes: **Okay. So I love me some Jake/Leah- and there were SO MANY HINTS in Breaking Dawn. This is my outlet, and almost my own explanation for imprinting. Enjoy! ;)

* * *


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